A Visit with Granny

We have had a couple of visits to Peter's grandmother's house lately. I keep telling him how lucky he is that he can go visit the place he has always gone as a kid to play with cousins, not to mention the fact that his grandmother is still with us. She has the most beautiful land in the area with a view of the lake at Shawnee Mission Park.

While we were visiting, Peter's uncle Ernie drove up in his lawnmower with a trailor attached, towing some grandchildren and also something else...a woodchuck! The little beast was found ravaging their garden, so Ernie trapped him and was taking him off the property to be released. He also informed us that Animal Control only removes domestic animals, which is why he had the woodchuck...fyi. We later found out that after the release the woodchuck returned and had to be taken farther away. I just realized I didn't get a picture of the woodchuck...oops. Anyway, Piper got to ride in the trailor and had a blast.

Piper also enjoyed wandering the porch, playing on the porch swing, eating watermelon, and sitting in the high chair of honor. This high chair has been used for five generations! How amazing is that?

Sweet Sisters

Piper has been in role of big sister for three months now and so far, she is doing a great job. At first the only thing that attracted Piper to Graci was Graci's belly button. Now that Graci is starting to notice Piper and give her attention, Piper is beginning to "play" with Graci. This usually consists of offering Graci her highly coveted bubba (blanket) so long as Piper is not using it. Oh well, at least she is sharing! It helps that Graci cannot move around yet or touch anything Piper feels belongs to her (which is pretty much everything right now).

Piper's favorite big sister job is to help change Graci's diapers. She is especially interested in the poopy ones because this means she is temporarily granted access to the wipes. Piper hasn't been as excited about this lately as Graci has slowed down in that department. I'm just grateful Piper cannot undo the snaps on onesies yet or I might have more help with diaper changes than I bargained for!

Graci at 3 months

Graci's Blessing

Graci's blessing was very sweet. One sister in our ward commented on how Graci just gazed into her daddy's eyes as he gave her blessing, like looking spirit to spirit. We felt very blessed to have so many family members in attendance.

A Dirty 4th of July

This year since my family was in town for the 4th of July, I decided we would combine Piper's second birthday party with the usual 4th of July festivities since she is too young to understand/complain about not having her own party. The weather was fabulous and Piper had a blast entertaining her little pals in our front "yard," which is really more of a small putting green, but it worked. Peter cooked the traditional hamburgers and hot dogs on our mini-weber with a little mesquite on the coals. It might be small, but it is mighty and we are cheap.

Our guests included Grandma and Grandpa Ecker, Grammy Ecker, Nonna and Papa Clark, Mimi and Rah-rah Mullen, Lance and Rosemary Longmore and their twins Lanny and Spencer, Ryan and Erin Longmore, and Neal and Emily Peterson and their daughter Sally. We had a great dinner and loads of desert: a blackberry/blueberry pie, an Elmo cake, and a yellow/jell-o/pudding cake.

After eating the children explored our small area in front of our townhome. The boys soon discovered a dirt pile in the cement used for a planter by people who like to take care of plants. I am not one of those people, so it is just full of dirt. Excitement ensued and before we knew it, dirt that was being tossed about was tossed right at Piper. She was so dirty it was impossible not to laugh.

The evening came to a close shortly after as everyone left to go and enjoy various fireworks displays. Next year we may venture out into that chaos, but this year Peter and I watched the fireworks from our bedroom window. It was a crazy, yet peaceful evening as I actually took the time to contemplate what a fantastic country we live in...even if we can't exercise our freedom to blow up our money in Johnson County...oh, well!

Graci at Two Months!

Graci is growing fast! At her two month appointment she had jumped from the 10% percentile at birth to the 50% percentile and even weighed about the same amount Piper did at two months. She is very alert and loves to watch Piper. She is cooing and has recently started squeaking every now and then. We started giving her a bottle of formula before bed, which helps her sleep for a six or seven hour stretch. She is very happy and a lot of fun!